1
Brooklyn Museum
1
200 Eastern Pkwy.
If you’re looking for diversity, the Brooklyn Museum is the place to go. It houses a huge permanent collection categorized by culture, as well as visiting exhibitions from a wide variety of geographic locations and time periods. It’s situated next to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and visitors can purchase discounted passes that allow them to tour both in the same day.
2
New York Botanical Garden
2
2900 Southern Blvd.
The New York Botanical Garden, neighbor to the Bronx Zoo, is a wonderland for everything that grows. Featuring more than a million plants on 250 acres, the Botanical Garden is a place for study and research as well as enchantment and exploration. Take a seasonal walk to see what’s in bloom. Or explore the historic Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, home to A World of Plants, which showcases the wonders of the Garden’s living collections in lush tropical rain forests, cactus-filled deserts, curated displays of palms from around the world, aquatic and carnivorous plants, and much more.
3
Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden
3
1000 Richmond Terr.
Initially built in the 1800s as a home for retired sailors, Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden is said to be the largest ongoing adaptive reuse project in America. The 23 historical buildings, nine botanical gardens and 10 acres of wetlands—set on an 83-acre campus—are the elements of a regional arts center where history, architecture, visual art, theater, dance, music and environmental science provide dynamic experiences for all ages. The venue, a Smithsonian affiliate, is home to the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, the Noble Maritime Collection, Staten Island Children's Museum, the arts school Art Lab and the Staten Island Museum.
4
The Tenement Museum
4
103 Orchard St.
The Tenement Museum tells the stories of working-class tenement residents, who moved to New York City from other countries and other parts of the country. Their work helped build the City and nation, and their stories help us understand our history. Their educator-led building and walking tours immerse visitors in the tenement hallways, kitchens and parlors where families carved out new lives—as well as the surrounding Lower East Side neighborhood in which they lived.
5
Casa Della Mozzarella
5
604 E. 187th St.
This staple of Arthur Avenue’s Little Italy is famous for its hand-pulled, homemade mozzarella, available salted and unsalted, in large balls as well as bocconcini (bite-size mozzarella snacks). The shop also sells deli meats, imported cheeses, pastas, cookies and hero sandwiches. Get there early to beat the sometimes long lines.
6
Denino's Pizzeria & Tavern
6
524 Port Richmond Ave.
This blue-collar tavern with the motto “In crust we trust” sits in the Elm Park section of Staten Island and has been serving up gooey, piping-hot pizza since its doors opened in 1937. Local families flock to the kid-friendly 150-seater for the 16-inch brick-oven pies, fried calamari, buffalo wings, platters (think sausage and meatballs) and heroes—including a unique shrimp offering.
7
New York Mets Baseball
7
41 Seaver Way
New York City’s National League franchise is younger than the Yankees’ and has a reputation as a plucky underdog, though that has been turned on its head in recent years with signings of high-priced stars such as pitchers Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. Fans, and the team, have high expectations.The club’s ballpark in Queens was designed to resemble Ebbets Field, home to spiritual forefathers the Brooklyn Dodgers (the Mets were formed shortly after the Dodgers and the New York Giants left town for the West Coast). The Mets take on the Miami Marlins in their April 6 home opener.
8
Scarr’s Pizza
8
22 Orchard Street
You’ll find modern tastes in a retro-style pizzeria at this Lower East Side joint, popular with both hipsters and pizza lovers. Run by a Dominican-American pizza maker, Scarr’s serves crispy yet chewy round pies and Sicilian squares using all natural, stone-milled flour ground in-house, alongside a lineup of organic wines. The place is a hit with vegans for its popular vegan Caesar salad and vegan pizza offerings. The service is unpolished, unpretentious and charming.
9
Philomena's Pizza
9
4116 Queens Blvd.
A staple of Sunnyside, Queens, Philomena’s is known for their Neapolitan-style pizzas. They offer variations on classic pies with toppings like arugula and prosciutto, but here it’s all about the dough, which is fermented for 72 hours, giving it a complex flavor.
10
Amorina Cucina Rustica
10
624 Vanderbilt Ave.
This authentic Italian eatery pays homage to its eponym, Amorina, who ran a café in postwar Italy. Amorina’s grandson and his wife opened the Prospect Heights restaurant, focusing on pasta dishes and Roman-style thin-crust pizza.